Mild winter gives central Pennsylvania road crews time to catch up

Less money spent salting and plowing might translate into more work on road projects this year.

Many municipal officials said they’ve saved money in their road maintenance budget this winter. But some, such as Lower Paxton Township, said it hasn’t made up for the flooding costs of last fall.

View full sizeCHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-NewsLower Paxton Twp. Public Works Department, repairs a section of Dowhower Road.

And there are looming gas-price increases that could eat up a lot of the savings, municipal managers said.

Derry Township has saved about $80,000 to $100,000 on anti-skid, salt, fuel and overtime, Township Manager James Negley said.

Still, he cautions, “The season is not over.”

Negley said the “storm of the century” was March 13, 1993 — the year he was acting manager.

“That date is emblazoned on my mind. Once we get by March 15, I feel pretty good,” Negley said.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation also has spent less this winter on plowing and salting, but officials are cautious about calculating winter savings this early.

“Though we can see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of winter, we’re still very much aware that it’s still winter, and snow and ice storms can still occur, and we can incur additional costs in terms of salt usage, anti-skid usage, greater fuel consumption and overtime,” said Greg Penny, PennDOT District 8 spokesman.

In District 8, which includes eight counties in south-central Pennsylvania, about $9.5 million was spent for winter services through Feb. 17, compared with $16.8 million last year.

The amount spent this year is a little more than 40 percent of the $24.2 million budgeted, Penny said.

Some counties have spent more in terms of percentage of budget, such as Perry County at nearly 53 percent, and Cumberland County at 51 percent, while York County is under budget at 34 percent.

Statewide, $99 million was spent on winter maintenance through mid-February, compared with $169 million the year before, PennDOT spokesman Stephen Chizmar said.

But with $120 million in damage from Tropical Storm Lee last fall, “In the end, it will probably be a wash,” Chizmar said.

“Winter savings will be put back into our road system,” Penny said.

In Dauphin County, some of the savings will help pay for paving ramps at the interchanges between Interstate 83 and Union Deposit Road, the Eisenhower Interchange, and between I-283 and Route 283 at the Pennsylvania Turnpike; parking lots in the rest areas along I-81 in the Grantville area; and paving part of Powells Valley Road, Penny said.

So far this winter, about 29,000 tons of salt have been used in District 8, compared with 97,300 tons in 2010-11 and 101,800 in 2009-10.

Still, it’s not a record low. That was in 2001-02, when only about 27,000 tons was used. In mild winters, storage can become an issue, since contracts require 75 percent of what is ordered to be purchased.

But that mild winter was followed in 2002-03 with another record — 109,940 tons. That winter, Penny recalled road salt “was like gold,” and there were people breaking into PennDOT salt sheds and stealing it.

“We had a mild winter, and we were able to save, but rising fuel costs and asphalt costs will likely erode some of this,” Penny said.

Higher fuel prices “will adversely affect how far we can stretch the winter savings,” Penny said. Fuel is budgeted by the state at $4 per gallon, not including taxes, and a large PennDOT plow truck gets only 4 miles per gallon. “It’s money that gets burned up.”

Oil prices also affect asphalt prices. In 2008, when asphalt prices skyrocketed, Penny said PennDOT cut back on paving and postponed some projects to the following year, he said.

Savings in Lower Paxton Twp. from the easy winter has “certainly been in the tens of thousands,” township Manager George Wolfe said.

Since winter isn’t over, he hasn’t calculated the savings in overtime, salt and anti-skid and equipment repairs.

Any savings will help to make up for the flood costs, Wolfe said. “We still had to endure some of the worst weather our community ever experienced. Are we even yet? No,” Wolfe said.

The township budget is based on current fuel prices, Wolfe said. “If it goes up significantly, like they are now expecting, it will be another unexpected hit we’ll take,” he said.

The city of Harrisburg has saved $85,000 on salt and overtime, spokesman Robert Philbin said. “A good snowstorm and that goes away,” he said.

Harrisburg has used 330 tons of salt this winter, compared with 1,188 tons at this time last year, Philbin said.

Any savings will be used elsewhere in the public works budget, such as maintenance or pothole repair, he said.

In Highspire, savings in overtime and salt and cinders have resulted, Borough Manager John McHale said.

“By this point, we’d probably in the second or third haul of salt and cinders, and we still have good bit of what we initially purchased,” he said.

The highway crew has been able to continue flood cleanup over winter. Mulch washed out by the flood hadn’t been replenished since winter was coming.

But if fuel prices rise, “It’s going to impact us everywhere,” McHale said, with the biggest hit in the police department. “If it goes to $4, we’ll be outside the budget.”

Hummelstown also has seen savings in normal winter expenses for salt and overtime for plow drivers and police, Borough Manager Michael O’Keefe said.

But that “could all disappear in one big snow,” he said, and rising fuel prices have him worried. “I think they’re going to have a significant impact on our budgets,” O’Keefe said.

“Just when we thought we have a breather for snow expenses, the summer road maintenance could be higher than last year,” O’Keefe said. “Every time it seems like we’re taking a step forward, you take a step back.”

Since there was less snow to plow, borough workers could get a jump on other tasks, such as addressing flood damage in parks and trails along the Swatara Creek.

“We have our walking trails in pretty good shape,” O’Keefe said. “That couldn’t have occurred without a nice warm winter.”

In East Hanover Twp., Dauphin County, public works director Charles Longreen said the township “saved quite a bit, but winter’s not over yet, you know.”

The savings will go toward road projects, and higher fuel prices will probably eat into that.

The mild winter has given crews more time to trim trees and brush.

“We’re getting a lot more roadside maintenance done,” Longreen said.

Lower Swatara Twp. has only used 13 percent of its snow removal budget, compared with 47 percent at this time last year, Township Manager Harry Krot said.

The township had to make considerable budget cuts for 2012, so any savings might allow for more road work to be done, Krot said. “But if gas prices go up to $5, some of the savings could go toward fuel costs, and it will impact oil-based paving products,” he said. “That could be broad-reaching for us.”

Over winter, crews had time to do more park maintenance and tree trimming, he said.

West Hanover Twp. has saved more than $100,000, township Manager Elizabeth Englend said.

The savings will stay in the general fund through the end of the year, she said. “If we don’t have an early winter next year, it will roll over into the following year.”

Crews have been able to do more tree trimming, maintenance on drainage systems and more this winter, she said.

South Londonderry Twp. in Lebanon County will be doing more road work than expected, thanks to lower winter costs, township Manager Tom Ernharth said.

“It will help make up for flood damage,” he said. “We haven’t spent anything so far this year — we saved a lot of money,” he said, regarding winter maintenance. The township salted only once, and $40,000 was budgeted for plowing and salt.

Neighboring North Londonderry Twp. did some salt runs, “but nothing like we did in the past,” township Manager Gordon Watts said. Savings will go into the carryover fund for 2013, he said. “It all averages out. If we have a bad winter next year, we may have some extra money.”

The mild winter gave crews time to catch up on maintenance, he said, including followup from the flood.

Many would assume a mild winter means fewer potholes, but Chizmar said that might not be the case.

“The jury is still out,” he said. Multiple freeze-thaw cycles, instead of one deep freeze, can create more potholes. Penny said he hasn’t received a lot of calls about potholes this year, which might also be because of crews having more time to address them.

With less plowing and salting details, PennDOT crews also have been able to spend more time cutting brush along roads and cleaning up.

Penny said complaints about trash along roads have been received this year, since it’s not covered up by snow, as is usually the case.

On the other hand, he said he’s heard complaints when people see PennDOT crews picking up trash such as, “Don’t you have better things for your crews to do?”

Spring cleanups are usually performed later in March or April after snow uncovers all the accumulated trash and debris of the winter.

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